Oil burner



Sept. 16, 1952 E. F. CHANDLER 2,610,573

on. BURNER Filed May 26. 1947 2 srmswpsmm 1 IN VEN TOR. Edward F Chandler i Qa/JZ-u; 9r.

ATTORNEY P 1952 E. F. CHANDLER 2,610,673

OIL BURNER Filed May 26, 194? 2 sHEETs-sHEE'r 2 102.4 :2}, 52 50A m 944 "526 :5 A "I "I 0;! K m w 42 I v //6 I .9634, 44/ Y w a M I IN VEN TOR. Edvard E Chandler Patented Sept. 16, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE-z v r 2,610,673 I w l a p i on. BURNER. Edward F. Chandler, Brooklyn, N. Y. Ap lication May 26, 1947, Serial No. 750,499

This invention relates to oil burners.

An object of the invention is to provide an oil burner including means for producing a stream of air, and means for introducing oil into the path of said air to form a readily combustible mixture.

Another object of the invention is to provide an oil burner including a housing connected to a source of air under pressure for causing a stream of air to flow through the housing toward its dis charge outlet, and including an oil conduit connectable to an oil source, with means cooperatively disposed relative to the outlet of said oil conduit, for conducting said oil at a controlled rate uniformly across the path of said air. stream whereby a readily combustible mixture is formed. A further object of the invention is to provide an oil'distributing device for installation in an oil burner housing, said device including a meshlike'sheet having a plurality of relatively small openings formed therein and extending across the path of the air stream in said oil burner housing, said mesh-like sheet being adapted to receive from a fuel inlet conduit a continuous flow 'of oil which is conducted thereby uniformly across the path of said air stream for mixture therewith so as to be readily combustible.

' Still another object of the invention is to provide an oil burner of improved design and including an oil inlet conduit connectable to an oil source for supplying oil to the burner housing, the discharge outlet of said oil conduit having a plurality of radiating metering discharge openings so arranged as to discharge said oil in a plurality of directions at a predetermined rate, whereby the requirement for exact leveling of the oil burner and its parts as rendered substantially less critical. 1, Another object of the invention is to provide an improved form of oil burner which is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture, and highly efficient in operation.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following de scription of a preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and in which, Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved oil burner including its connection to oil and air sources,

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation taken on line 2 Claims. (Cl; 158-91) taken on line 6-6 of Figure 3, and showingthe wire mesh and associated elements, and

Figure 'lis a fragmentary sectional elevation taken inthe same plane as that of Figure 2, and illustratingin'the upper portion of the burner housing, a modified form of theinvention; In the constructionoi oil burners, it is of utmost importance to obtain an intimate mixture of oil and air in order to support efficient combustion thereof. Various means have been contrived toward this end, these having been mainly in the field of forcibly spraying the oil into the air stream. Inasmuch as such methods are attend edwith mechanicalcomplications and additional expense both-for operation and maintenance, the present invention presents means whereby the oil is conveyed uniformly across the air stream forintermixture therewith, by gravity feed alone. -In'crder to'understand clearly the nature'of the invention and thebest'means for carrying it out, reference may now beihad to the drawings, in which like numerals denote similar parts throughout the several views.

The burner housing is disposed in the ash pit 30 of a furnace, being supported principally by means of posts 32 the lower flanges 34 of which rest upon the furnace floor 36, and the upper threaded portion 38 of which extends through an aperture in aflange 40 forming part of the hous ing, being secured thereto by means of nuts 42. The upper portion of the burner housing is bent outwardly to form a radiating annular flange 44. The flange forms a seat for an annular collar 46 the lower-portion of which is secured thereto by means of a screw 48 passing through axially aligned openings formed in the abutting surfaces. The collar 46 has an annular upstanding exten-- sion 50 the inside diameter of which is greater than that of the throat 28 of the burner housing. A refractory upstanding collar 52 has an annular recess 54 formed in its lower outer surface as shown best in Figure Z, to allow it to extend partly into an axial bore of the annular extension 50, and forming a horizontal shoulder which is sup-- ported upon the upper edge of the extension. The refractory collar has an axial bore 56, the inner walls of which are upwardly divergent. The collar 52 may, if desired, be formed of any suitable refractorymaterial well'known in the art, and may be assembled from a number of arcuate segments which are joined together to abut along the radial planes 58. 7

Lateral support for the burner housing is also provided. by means of bracketsBO which may be welded or otherwise. secured'attheir inner ends to the annular extension 50, andwelded or bolted at theirouter flanges -62 to the inner wall surface 64 of the furnace in which the burner is installed; Oil is supplied, tothe oil burner through an oil pipe" 66 which "leads from theinterior ofan oil supply tank site an L shaped coupling lli'th'e upstanding end of which is threaded into an axial bore 12 formed in the thickened floor 13 of the burner housing.

An oil riser or feed pipe 16 the lower end of which is threaded into the bore 12 to communicate with the oil feed, extends axially upwards through the air chamber [2. An oil feed housing or bowl 14 is threaded onto the upper end of the feed pipe 16, the oil thus being free to flow into the cup shaped oil receiving bowl chamber 18 formed in the housing.

A cap 88 has its lower surface supported upon the upper surface of the bowl l4, and has an annular depending skirt 82 extending downwardly inside the bowl chamber so as to form a tight seal against the passage of oil therebetween. An oil dispensing apertured sheet 84 the sides of which form a hollow frusto-cone, has an axial opening formed therein the marginal edges of which extend into the space between the lower surface of the cap an and the upper surface of the bowl 14, so as to be retained securely in position.

The oil dispensing sheet 84 has its sides sloping radially downward across the air passageway. its outer marginal edges 85 extending between the upper surface of the flange 44 and the lower abutting surface of the collar 48, so as to be retained securely therebetween. It will be apparent that the air passing upwards through the housing In must pass through the oil dispensing sheet 84 before it can be discharged through the divergent bore in the refractory collar 52.

The oil dispensing sheet is shown in further detail in Figures 3, and 6 in order that its construction may be readily understood. It will be observed that the sheet includes an upper wire mesh screen 88 sufficiently coarse to allow easy passage of air therethrough, but otherwise of relatively fine mesh. Below the mesh screen there may be placed a layer 98 of fire resistant material such as asbestos or other material in the form of a woven or carded fabric which is suiliciently coarse to offer no great impedance to the passage of air therethrough, and the layer 90 may be supported in turn from below by means of a wire grating 92 the wires of which are formed into a coarse mesh as seen best in Figures 5 and 6, and which will offer little if any impedance to the air passage through it.

The bowl cap 80 has an axial hollow tube 94 formed integral therewith, the tube having a lower extension 96 which extends downwardly into the bowl chamber 18. Oil is then free to flow upwards through the tube 94 from the bowl chamber, being discharged through radial metering apertures 98 formed in the upper wall of the tube 94, the oil thus flowing onto the conical apron surface of the cap 80, and thence downward onto the screen 88.

A hood or shield I80 having a depending skirt as shown best in Figures 1 and 2, is supported coaxially upon the upper end of the tube 94, and has a central aperture to receive the shank of a screw I62 which is threaded into the upper end portion of the bore of the tube 94, the screw being short enough as not to obstruct the flow of oil through the outlets 98. From Figure 2, it will be seen that there is a small amount of clearance between the lower edge of the hood skirt and the abutting portions of the cap 80 and the oil dispensing sheet 84. The hood I00 receives radiant heat from the flame which tends to vaporize at least a part of the oil thereunder, as it flows down the apron toward the screen.

The rate of flow of oil out of the discharge apertures 98 is regulated both by their size, and also by the oil level in the oil tank 68, from which the oil flows into the burner by gravity feed. The tank 83 may be of any suitable design, well known in the art, and adapted to receive oil from a larger storage tank by pumping or other means. The tank 88 may be provided with a float actuated check valve for maintaining the oil level therein in any well known manner.

The operation of the burner may now be described.

Under the influence of the compressor 24, air is caused to flow into the air chamber l2 and upwards through the oil distributing sheet 84. At the same time, oil flows continuously up the feed pipe 16 into the bowl chamber 18 and thence upwards through the tube 94 and out through the metering holes 98 onto the apron 80, from which it flows onto the mesh screen 88.

The screen 88 conducts the oil radially outward down the sloping surface toward its lower edge 86, thus distributing the oil rather uniformly across the path of the upflowing air which must pass through the screen from below. An electrical heating element I06 which is actuated by current derived from the power lines through wires i823 and H8, is disposed in contact with or near the upper surface of the screen 88, so as to ignite the oil on the screen. The mixture of air and oil produces a flame of suitable intensity which extends upwards out through the refractory collar 52 and into contact with the wall surfaces of the furnace which are to be heated.

The collar 48 has a tubular extension H2 in which is disposed an insulating bushing H4 through which the wires I08 and H8 extend. In order to facilitate the conduction of oil uniformly across the path of air stream, the asbestos sheet 98 is disposed below the screen 88, so that it serves as a sort of wick. The coarse lower mesh 92 provides support from below for the asbestos sheet.

The burner housing I!) is also provided with a drain pipe I It to catch any oil overflow and conduct it to a receptacle. If the ignition should fail for any reason, so that the oil is not burned, the oil overflow pipe will not only catch the oil which thus flows into the chamber l2, and conduct it to a safe receptacle, but it may also be provided with a cut-off switch of any suitable Well known design, whereby, in the event of oil overflow, the electric power is immediately shut off and a valve closed to prevent further flow of oil out of tank 68.

Figure 7 shows a modified form of the invention, which is quite similar in construction to that shown in the other views. However, it will be seen that the device of Figure 7 has a flat oil distributing sheet I i 8 instead of the conical sloping sheet 84 shown in the other views. The sheet H8 is otherwise similar in construction to that shown in Figures 3, 5 and 6, and may include the three layers shown, namely the upper relatively fine wire mesh 88, the lower coarse wire mesh 92, and the intermediate asbestos sheet 98 which is sufficiently permeable by the air stream as to offer no great impedance to its flow therethrough. In Figure 7, similar numerals have been employed but where there is any variation in the proportioning of the parts due to the use of the horizontal oil distributing sheet H8, they have been given a sufiix A, such as at 46A. It will also be seen that the electric heating element lUBA of Figure '7 is disposed in a horizontal plane in abutment to the underlying horizontal wire mesh screen 88, rather than in upwardly inclined position as was shown in Figure 2.

The arrangement of relatively small diameter oil discharge metering outlets 98 and 98A and the arrangement of the coacting parts, is of particular advantage inasmuch as it makes less critical than normal, the usual requirement of rather precise leveling of oil burners of the gravity feed type. It will be found that in the use of the present invention, a good, substantially uniform flame will be obtained even if the burner is not precisely leveled. This is important, because even if the burner is not quite level, it will still give uniform flame since the oil cannot gush in any particular direction, but flows only in metered quantities through the holes, thus making the leveling of the burner less critical than otherwise.

As the oil flows upward through the pipelB and into the bowl 14, it will be preheated due to the nearness of the flame and the heat from the surrounding parts. It will also be observed that the particular design of the cap 80, with its depending tube 94 and skirt 82, forms a downwardly open dome chamber which may be filled with vapor rising from the preheated oil in the bowl chamber 18. This will act as a shock absorber, making for more uniform flow of oil and absorbing shocks and fluctuations. to gasify the oil mixture and to improve its combustible quality.

It will be seen that the air intake duct 14 approaches the housing eccentrically so as to cause the air to swirl around in the chamber 12, where it is then directed upward in a rotating spiral, producing a swirling flame.

Although I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention in specific terms, it is to be understood that variations may be made in size, shape, materials and arrangement without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. An oil burner comprising ahousing having a chamber with an air intake opening connectable to a source of air and having a discharge opening to discharge the air stream derived from said air source, an oil tube connectable to an oil source and extending into said chamber, means forming a bowl chamber communicating therewith to receive oil from said oil tube, closure means carried by said bowl chamber, duct means for conducting oil upwardly out of said bowl chamber, oil metering means adapted to discharge oil from said duct means above said closure means at a predetermined rate, and oil distributing screen mesh means adapted to receive oil flowing out of It also tends said 011 metering means and extending across the said air stream outwardly relative to the center thereof, whereby said oil is distributed uniformly across said air stream for intermixture therewith to form a readily combustible mixture, and characterized further in that said oil distributing means includes a wire mesh screen extending across said air stream in said chamber, and a wick-like layer of foraminous material supported below said wire mesh screen, whereby the air stream is constrained to flow through both said layer and said screen, and whereby oil flowing upon said mesh screen is conducted uniformly across said air stream.

2. An oil burner comprising a housing having a chamber with an air intake opening connectable to a source of air and having a discharge opening to discharge the air stream derived from said source, an oil tube connectable to an oil source and extending into said chambenmeans forming a bowl chamber communicating therewith to receive oil from said oil tube, closure means carried by said bowl chamber, duct means for conducting oil upwardly out of said bowl chamber,

. oil metering means adapted to discharge oil from said duct means above said closure means at a predetermined rate, and oil distributing screen mesh means adapted to receive oil flowing out of said oil metering means and extending across the said air stream outwardly relative to the center thereof, whereby said oil is distributed uniformly across said air stream for intermixture therewith to form a readilycombustible mixture, and characterized further in that means is provided whereby heat radiated from the oil burner flame is employed for preheating the oil prior to its delivery upon said oil distributing means, said provided means comprising hood means adapted to be heated by said flame and overlying the outlets from said oil metering means.

EDWARD F. CHANDLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 260,983 Hubbard July 11, 1882 387,811 Rader Aug. 14, 1888 1,146,395 Best July 13, 1915 1,513,287 Smallwood Oct. 28, 1924 1,570,003 Pickering Jan. 19, 1926 1,772,750 Lighty Aug. 12, 1930 1,974,702 Black Sept. 25, 1934 2,193,828 Mason Mar. 19, 1940 2,386,746 Hess Oct. 9, 1945 

